Intentional conversation about spiritual things

over really good food

Gastrochurch Resources

The dinner church is a fast-growing phenomena. When we started gastrochurch, we had no idea anyone else was doing something similar. As word has spread, we've been thrilled to discover that we are part of a movement! (And not just crazy.)

Gastrochurch's unique contribution to this movement seems to be the creativeness of our themes. Each month's gathering has a seasonal and theological theme. There are three courses to each meal, and each course comes with a ten minute "sermon" and an intentionally provocative discussion question--worded to be answerable by anyone regardless of belief or lack thereof. The theme informs the menu, the reflections, the questions, and the communion liturgy. So, for example, one Lent we served traditional fasting foods from around the world (believe it or not, there are a lot of those) and talked about spiritual disciplines. One October we served Oktoberfest food and talked about Martin Luther and the Reformation. We've spent quite a lot of energy figuring out which questions make people think (and talk), which themes get people to show up, and how to structure an evening that is both hospitable and challenging.

We'd like to offer some of those resources back to the dinner church community. Or, really, to anyone interested in creating a space for intentional conversation. These resources could easily be used for small groups, dinner clubs, neighborhood gatherings, and more.

With a basic subscription, you'll receive the materials for three gastrochurch evenings per quarter, 12 per year. Each evening is matched to the season of the year (and usually the season of the church as well), and includes our "sermon," our discussion questions, communion liturgy, recipes, and an advertising image. Click the links above to download samples of what our materials look like.

​For churches interested in starting something like gastrochurch from scratch, we provide coaching as well. For more information on that, contact Rev. Meredith Mills at gastrochurch@gastrochurch.org.